Vale minority shareholders elect independent member to board

FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Brucutu mine owned by Brazilian mining company Vale SA is seen in Sao Goncalo do Rio Abaixo, Brazil February 4, 2019. REUTERS/Washington Alves

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Minority shareholders of Brazilian iron ore miner Vale SA succeeded in electing a representative to the board of directors at the company’s shareholder meeting on Tuesday, a person who attended the meeting told Reuters.

Independent member Patricia Bentes was elected under a new cumulative voting system instead of a single vote to approve all names proposed by controlling shareholders.

In March, Vale proposed enlarging its board by adding one independent member two months after nearly 300 people died when a mining dam operated by the company burst.

The company said it has created a special directorship responsible for overseeing the repair and development of the area impacted by the collapse of the Brumadinho dam in Minas Gerais, and appointed veteran engineer Marcelo Kleinnamed to head it.

Kleinnamed, who has been with Vale for 27 years, has been coordinating the rapid response team set up after the disaster. He will report directly to Vale’s new CEO, Eduardo Bartolomeo, on the progress of the repair operations.